The Colosseum in Rome, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville are among the world famous monuments that will be part of the Global Greening for St. Patrick’s Day 2015.
The Tourism Ireland initiative will again see world famous tourist attractions and historic buildings illuminated in green to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan said, “It is very important to stress that the greening of iconic sites around the world is an enormous source of pride to people here in Ireland and to our diaspora overseas.
He continued, “The greening of iconic sites is also symbolic of the great friendship that exists between Ireland and so many countries around the world. It presents us with an invaluable opportunity to deepen existing friendships, strengthen awareness of Ireland and our rich heritage, and forge new ties.”
Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening has grown from strength to strength, with a number of new landmarks signing up to take part in 2015. As well as the Colosseum, Sacré-Cœur and the Grand Ole Opry, other sites going green for the first time include the famous Porte de Bourgogne in Bordeaux, the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, the Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel in Abu Dhabi, the Town Halls of Munich and Bamberg, the National Sanctuary of Cristo Rei (Christ the King statue) in Lisbon, the Fram polar exploration ship in Oslo, as well as City Hall in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The new sites will join some “old favorites” that have gone green in previous years – including Niagara Falls (on both the US and Canadian sides), the London Eye, the Allianz Arena in Munich, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Cibeles Fountain and Palace in Madrid and one of last year’s newcomers, Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland in Paris.
Chicago will be ‘going all out’ to celebrate St. Patrick and Ireland once again this year, with numerous buildings and sites across the city “seeing green,” including Navy Pier, the John Hancock Center, the United Center (home to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls), the Wrigley Building, Trump International Hotel & Tower, Block Thirty Seven shopping mall, Old St Patrick’s Church and Macy’s department store. Special greening “selfie stations” will be set up around the city in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day so that individual Chicagoans can join in the fun celebrations.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe said, “The 2015 Tourism Ireland Global Greening will again help to raise awareness of Ireland as a visitor destination in key overseas markets.”
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said, “This is the sixth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see even more well-known attractions and landmark sites wishing to get involved and join our St Patrick’s celebrations.”
He continued, “The success of our Global Greening initiative is due in no small part to the great work that has been carried out across the world by Irish people down the generations and, in particular, to the great support we’ve received from the Irish Embassy network, the Diaspora and groups like ShamROCK Chicago. The eagerness to take part underlines the strength of the deep spiritual connection that people everywhere feel to Ireland. More than 70 million people around the world claim links to the island of Ireland and St Patrick’s Day is a truly unique opportunity to reconnect them with their heritage.”
Here’s a list of the international landmarks set to go green:
(Those marked with a asterisk are first timers this year.)
- Great Britain
London Eye
Town Hall clock, Manchester
‘Armadillo’ (SECC), Glasgow
The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
North America
- United States
Grand Ole Opry (the show that made country music famous!), Nashville *
John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, Nashville *
Empire State Building, New York
GREENing of Chicago
- United Center (home of the Chicago Bulls) *
- Block Thirty Seven (shopping mall) *
- Macy’s *
- Navy Pier
- John Hancock Center
- Old St Patrick’s Church
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower
- Trump International Hotel & Tower
- Wrigley Building
- Chicago Board of Trade
- Novak Construction *
- State Street
- Canada
Niagara Falls (on both the Canadian and US sides)
Whistler, Canada’s famous ski resort in British Columbia
City Hall, Toronto
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa
Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Mainland Europe
- Austria
Burgtheater (City Hall), Vienna
Wiener Riesenrad (Giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater Amusement Park), Vienna
Skiwelt Söll (ski resort)
Kaprun Castle, Zell-am-See region
- Belgium
Manneken Pis statue, Brussels (“dressed” in Irish costume)
- France
Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris *
Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland® Paris
Porte de Bourgogne, Bordeaux *
Irish Embassy, Paris
Irish Cultural Centre, Paris *
Publicis landmark building on the Champs Elysées, Paris *
- Germany
Allianz Arena, Munich
Town Hall, Munich *
Odeonsplatz, Munich
Olympic Tower, Munich
Town Hall, Bamberg *
English language school, Bamberg *
‘Lighthouse’ building, Düsseldorf
Neumünster church (built over the tomb of St Kilian), Würzburg
Town Hall, Würzburg
Irish pubs network
- Italy
Colosseum, Rome *
Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Norway
Fram polar exploration ship, Oslo *
- Portugal
National Sanctuary of Cristo Rei (Christ the King statue), Lisbon *
Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, Caiscais
- Slovenia
Ljubljana Castle
Philharmonic Hall, Slovenia *
- Spain
Cibeles Fountain and Palace, Madrid
Tower of Hércules (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Galicia
-Switzerland
Rhine Falls, near Zurich
- Australia and New Zealand
Town Hall, Sydney *
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
Sky Tower, Auckland
Auckland War Memorial Museum *
- Others
Christ the Redeemer statue, Brazil
Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel, Abu Dhabi *
Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai
City Hall, Tbilisi, Georgia *
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